MSR take victory in finale.

Raphael Matos, Ian James and John Pew win the final round of the Rolex Series season, Ganassi pair take title

Raphael Matos enjoyed a winning end to the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season as, after winning the GT class in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January, he returned to take his first Daytona Prototype win at Miller Motorsports Park.

Matos joined regular drivers Ian James and John Pew to give the #6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley its first Rolex Series victory as the team became the third first-time Daytona Prototype winner in three races at Miller Motorsports Park.

Meanwhile, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas wrapped up the 2008 Daytona Prototype championship with a ninth place finish in the #01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, joined by Alex Lloyd.

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The 137-lap race on the 4.486-mile circuit saw 16 lead changes among 14 drivers and ten cars, with the event including a mid-race deluge that quickly dissipated. A record nine of the ten lead-lap finishers led the race.

However, Matos pulled away on the restart following the sixth and final caution. He led the final 28 laps - the most in the event - cruising to a 29.398-second margin of victory over the #10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Dallara of Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante.

"The car was very strong at the end of the race and that's why I was able to pull a gap," Matos, the 2008 Indy Lights title winner, said. "I love this series and I love the cars. I love driving them.

"I had a great team - Mike Shank did an amazing job, and John Pew and Ian James did a great job. The crew had an amazing pit stop, and that's what put us in first position. This is a happy moment for everyone and a great way to finish the season.

"I was a little bit concerned about the car before the race, but the car had a great balance and the balanced improved throughout the race. That's why were able to win at the end."

Michael Shank Racing scored its first victory at Miller in 2006 when Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson took the team's #60 entry to victory. That was their first triumph until the most recent Rolex Series race, when Negri and Patterson brought the #60 Ford Riley to victory lane at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Fogarty and Alex Gurney concluded their season as the reigning series champions in the #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley with Jimmy Vasser, taking third place to wrap up second in the Daytona Prototype championship. The outgoing titlists won once in 2008.

Joao Barbosa and JC France finished fourth for the fifth time in seven races in the #59 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley, allowing the team to finish third in the final team standings.
Polesitter Ricardo Zonta and Nic Jonsson finished fifth in the #76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola.

Pruett and Rojas drove a consistent - but not completely trouble-free - race, finishing ninth in the #01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley. The car spun twice, yet with a season-high six victories, Pruett and Rojas only needed to complete 30 minutes each to share the championship. Pruett drove the first stint from the second starting position, driving an hour-and-a-half before Rojas got in. Alex Lloyd, the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights champion, also earned seat time.

"We hoped to finish a little higher today, but we were turned around late in race, but we did what we had to do," Pruett said. "After three straight seasons finishing second in this championship, it's great to be back on top.

"To accomplish what we have all season is just a testament to everyone involved - the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team, everyone at Lexus and TRD and we couldn't have done it without the support of a great partner in TELMEX. The record is great, but I'll look back on that more at the end of my career. Right now, it's all about winning this championship and all the guys that have worked so hard.

"Nobody puts together a better effort than Chip Ganassi."

Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards scored their second consecutive GT victory at Miller Motorsports Park in the #07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R, claimed the championship along the way. Edwards took the chequered flag by more than a lap over the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis, who finished second in the final standings.

Edwards took the lead late in the race and distanced himself enough to make a late splash for fuel without losing the lead. While they led flag-to-flag in this event in 2007, Saturday's race saw 16 lead changes among eleven drivers and four cars. Edwards led a race-high 49 circuits, with Collins leading six laps.

Collins and Edwards have been leading the GT points since April's race in Mexico. Since then, they have struggled with various mechanical issues, allowing both the Stevenson Motorsports team and #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 to enter the finale in striking distance for the title, with the top three teams each winning three events. The Banner Racing victory was its fourth of 2008, giving Collins and Edwards a final margin of nine points.

"It was unbearably hard to drive the car for awhile," Collins said. "I knew if we went into that kitty litter, we wouldn't be sitting here right now with the victory and the championship. There was a time I think we were going about 30 miles per hour at most. It was very touch and go. After Mexico, we had a really good points lead. Then, we decided to cool it a bit, so to speak. We thought we'd hang here for awhile and then we started having some problems and we saw the points lead diminish."

While the No. 07 team was busy seeing "ones," the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R co-drivers Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell were seeing "twos." The pair finished second in the SunRichGourmet.com 1000, earning their ninth podium finish of the campaign. Earning third in the GT championship were Sylvain Tremblay and Nick Ham of the #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, who finished fifth in the event, joined by David Haskell.

Andy Lally, Patrick Long and Tim George Jr. finished third in the #67 TRG Porsche GT3. George wrapped up the season by winning both the MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year and the Bob Akin Award honors. Finishing fourth was the #32 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R powered by Mike Forest and Patrick Barrett.